My high school setting was extremely important to my education. I attended West Morris Mendham High School. It was a small school of about 1,200 students. It was in a small town but the students came from three different towns in the surrounding area. I had very helpful teachers. I knew I could go to them with any question. All of our classes had a very strong respect policy. The classes were also very open and anyone was free to speak their mind. We also learned to get along with people who were different than us. We learned to be one team. The teachers in our school were wonderful. They were very easy to talk to and I always knew I could go to them with any question. They all approached teaching differently which I really like because I never got bored. I really like my sophomore year English teacher Ms. Pelizzoni. She was nice but tough. We would read tons of books and write a lot of papers. But I remember that she asked is to think more than any teacher did. Whenever we answered and question she would always ask why or tell us to elaborate more. I also loved my Western Civilization teacher from senior year, Ms. Tacky. She was very funny but strict. We would goof off sometimes in class but she always brought us back to the lesson. Ms. Tacky was very good at coming up with fun ways to teach us things. When we learned about Medieval Times we were split up into three kingdoms. Everyone in the kingdom had a role king, queen, serf, etc. I remember I was the queen of the blue kingdom. We competed against the other kingdoms in the class my completing projects and homework assignments to earn our team points. Our projects included building a medieval castle, writing a code of laws, and writing journals for our character. I can’t remember a time when I had more fun learning about anything. Our classes had very strong respect policies. This meant that anyone could give and opinion or ask a question without being made fun of. This was important because a lot of times we don’t as questions because we are afraid of being made fun. Then we never get a chance to understand what it was we were confused about. It also meant that when our teachers asked a question no one was afraid to answer it. No one would make fun of you if you answered a question wrong. If they ever did then they were kicked out of class immediately and sent to the office for the rest of the period. Another important effect my high school had on me was that I learned to get along with people who were different than I was. This was not quite the same as Cedric’s experience because the kids in my school were not as violent but it was still difficult. The kids in my school came from three very different towns. Mendham Township where I am from was the wealthiest of the three towns and everyone thought we were stuck up and snobby. And don’t get me wrong some people were. Then there were people from Mendham Borough who were kind of in the middle. Finally there were the people from Chester who we had all heard did a lot of drugs and were trouble makers. It took us all a while to get along and accept each other. Eventually we all got along and I am now friends with a lot of people from both of those other towns. We all came together to be part of one school. In fact, this year we all came together to cheer on our school’s basketball team. They almost won the state championship and we were all at every game dressed up in whatever spirit day outfit it was and ready to cheer on our team. I am very lucky I was able to get the wonderful high school experience I got. I know that everybody is not as fortunate as I am. Not everybody has wonderful teachers who come up with fun and creative ways to teach us things that we usually find boring. We don’t all feel safe speaking up in class because some people are still afraid that they will be made fun of. I loved my school and I feel so lucky that I got to attend Mendham High School and have the wonderful experience I had.
Very interesting essay. Nicely organized. It sounds like you experienced a very good school After reading, I was left wondering how the school's characteristics affected you. Are you a particular kind of person now because of your high school's teaching and respect policies? - fogleman Oct 6, 2010
The teachers in our school were wonderful. They were very easy to talk to and I always knew I could go to them with any question. They all approached teaching differently which I really like because I never got bored. I really like my sophomore year English teacher Ms. Pelizzoni. She was nice but tough. We would read tons of books and write a lot of papers. But I remember that she asked is to think more than any teacher did. Whenever we answered and question she would always ask why or tell us to elaborate more.
I also loved my Western Civilization teacher from senior year, Ms. Tacky. She was very funny but strict. We would goof off sometimes in class but she always brought us back to the lesson. Ms. Tacky was very good at coming up with fun ways to teach us things. When we learned about Medieval Times we were split up into three kingdoms. Everyone in the kingdom had a role king, queen, serf, etc. I remember I was the queen of the blue kingdom. We competed against the other kingdoms in the class my completing projects and homework assignments to earn our team points. Our projects included building a medieval castle, writing a code of laws, and writing journals for our character. I can’t remember a time when I had more fun learning about anything.
Our classes had very strong respect policies. This meant that anyone could give and opinion or ask a question without being made fun of. This was important because a lot of times we don’t as questions because we are afraid of being made fun. Then we never get a chance to understand what it was we were confused about. It also meant that when our teachers asked a question no one was afraid to answer it. No one would make fun of you if you answered a question wrong. If they ever did then they were kicked out of class immediately and sent to the office for the rest of the period.
Another important effect my high school had on me was that I learned to get along with people who were different than I was. This was not quite the same as Cedric’s experience because the kids in my school were not as violent but it was still difficult. The kids in my school came from three very different towns. Mendham Township where I am from was the wealthiest of the three towns and everyone thought we were stuck up and snobby. And don’t get me wrong some people were. Then there were people from Mendham Borough who were kind of in the middle. Finally there were the people from Chester who we had all heard did a lot of drugs and were trouble makers.
It took us all a while to get along and accept each other. Eventually we all got along and I am now friends with a lot of people from both of those other towns. We all came together to be part of one school. In fact, this year we all came together to cheer on our school’s basketball team. They almost won the state championship and we were all at every game dressed up in whatever spirit day outfit it was and ready to cheer on our team.
I am very lucky I was able to get the wonderful high school experience I got. I know that everybody is not as fortunate as I am. Not everybody has wonderful teachers who come up with fun and creative ways to teach us things that we usually find boring. We don’t all feel safe speaking up in class because some people are still afraid that they will be made fun of. I loved my school and I feel so lucky that I got to attend Mendham High School and have the wonderful experience I had.
Very interesting essay. Nicely organized. It sounds like you experienced a very good school After reading, I was left wondering how the school's characteristics affected you. Are you a particular kind of person now because of your high school's teaching and respect policies? -